Adjustable switch-rod.



No. 813,873. PATENTED FEB. 27, 1906 W. H. ELLIOT ADJUSTABLE SWITCH ROD. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 23, 1905.

fla 75W. W772. K E Z Z307, 2 W

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. ELLIOT, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO ELLIOT FROG & SWITCH COMPANY, OF EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLINOIS, A COR- PORATION.

ADJUSTABLE SWITCH-ROD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27, 1906.

Application filed December 23, 1905- Serial No. 293,083

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. ELLIOT, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Switch-Rods, of which the followin is a full, clear, and eXact description, re erence being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to that character of switch-rods in which an eccentric is used to provide for the lateral adjustment of the switch-point rail-sections of a railway-track to shift them toward each other or away from each other in order that they may be properly brought into juxtaposition with the maintrack rails when shifted thereto Figure I is a cross-section taken through a railway-track at the location of its switchpoint rail-sections and showing in elevation a switch-rod connected to the switch-rail sections in accordance with my improvement. Fig. II is an enlarged top or plan view of a fragment of the switch-rod and means by which said rod is connected to a switch-point rail-section. Fig. III is a vertical longitudinal section taken on line III III, Fig. II. Fig. IV is a horizontal section taken on line IV IV, Fig. III, with the switch-rod and eccentric-block shown in top or plan view. Fig. V is a perspective view of my eccentricblock.

A designates main rolls of a railway-track, and B switch-point rail-sections that are adapted to be moved to the main rails, as usual.

1 designates brackets that are secured by bolts or other suitable means to the switchpoint rail-sections. Each of these brackets is provided with a U-shaped arm 2, consisting of an upper member and a lower member united by a bow-shaped portion. The upper and lower members of the arm are provided with circular bolt-holes 3. (See Fig. III.)

4 represents bolts that ass through the bolt-holes in the arm meml ers of the brackets and which have applied to them nuts 5, that may be held from dislodgment by keys 6, passing through the bolts.

7 designates a switch-rod that is seated within the U-shaped arms of the brackets 1 between their top and bottom members. This switch-rod is provided with polygonal apertures 8, (see Fig. IV,) which are so located in the rod as to occupy positions within the U-shaped arms when the rod is connected to the brackets 1. The polygonal apertures in the switch-rod preferably have the form of the points of a star in outline.

9 designates an eccentric-block of polygonal shape and having therein a bolt-hole 10, that is located at one side of the axis of the block. One of these blocks is utilized in each of the apertures 8 of the switch-rod. The eccentric-blocks are polygonal in shape, being preferably of star form to fit within the correspondingly-shaped apertures in the switchrod and to be held from rotation therein. I prefer to make the eccentric-blocks of star shape in contour, for the reason that by doing so I am able to secure a greater degree of adjustment of the eccentric-blocks in the apertures of the switch-rod, while at the same time such angles at the points of the blocks may be produced as to obviate all liability of turning of the eccentric-blocks in the switchrod apertures.

In the practical use of an adjustable switch-rod made in accordance with my invention the switch-rod is readily adjusted relative to the switch-point rail-sections or the switch-point rail-sections relative to the switch-rod by simply removing the bolts 4, that pass through the U-shaped arms of the brackets and the eccentric-blocks, when the switch-rod may be withdrawn from the brackets and the eccentric-blocks removed and reinserted in altered positions, according to the degree of adjustment that it may be desired to make. In so adjusting the eccentricblocks the bolt-holes therein are moved into varied positions to space the bolt-holes in the pair of eccentric-blocks either more remote from each other or bring them closer together, thereby Varying the positions of the switchpoint rail-sections, when thebrackets carried thereby are again connected to the switchrod by the bolts passing through the bracketarms and the eccentric-blocks.

While I have described my switch-rod as provided with a pair of apertures and a corresponding number of eccentric-blocks seated therein and adapted to receive the attachment of the two switch-point rail-sections of a railway-track, it is obvious that if desired only a single aperture may be made in the switch-rod and a single eccentric-block used for the purpose of securing adjustment of one switch-point section, and the second switchpoint section maybe connected to the switchrod in any suitable manner without making use of my improvement.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination with a pair of railway switch-point rail-sections, of a bracket connected to one of said switch-point rail-sections, a switch-rod having a polygonal aperture therein, an eccentric-block seated in said polygonal aperture, and a bolt passing through said bracket and eccentric-b1ock,subst antially as set forth.

2. The combination with a pair of railway switch-point rail-sections, of a bracket connected to one of said rail-sections, a switchrod having a star-shaped aperture therein,

an eccentric-block of star shapefitting in said aperture, and a bolt passing through said bracket and said eccentric-block,substantially as set forth. 7

3. The combination of a pair of railway switch-point rail-sections, a bracket secured to one of said rail-sections and having a U- shaped arm, a switch-rod fitting within the U-shaped arm of said bracket and having a polygonal aperture therein, a polygonal eccentric-block seated in said polygonal aperture, and a bolt passing through said U- shaped arm and said eccentric-block, substantially as set forth.

WILLIAM H. ELLIOT. In presence of E. S. KNIGHT, BLANCHE HOGAN. 

